Mayor calls for removal of giant Pope-worrying penis

A town in Malta is facing calls from its own mayor to remove a ‘phallic’ sculpture which would be seen by the Pope as he drives past when visiting this weekend.

Paul Vella Critien’s sculpture ‘Colonna Mediterranea': looks like a big penis, will be seen by the Pope

The ‘Colonna Mediterranea’ is a sculpture by local artist Paul Vella Critien, and since 2006 has stood at a roundabout in Luqa, near to Maltaís international airport.The roundabout is on the route Pope Benedict XVI will take as he visits Malta on April 17 and 18.John Schembri, the mayor of Luqa, has described the sculpture as ‘vulgar’ and ’embarrassing’, and called for it to be removed as ‘it is not the most fitting way in which to greet the Pope.’He said the council would appeal to the government to have the sculpture removed.But the government says they have no plans to remove the artwork, and sculptor Critien hit back at his critics – calling them ‘ignorant’ and ‘uneducated’ and insisting that the object wasn’t actually a massive penis, but an ancient Egyptian symbol.